Annual Temecula Special Games allows children with disabilities to enjoy activities just as their peers do

Adriana Burchard watched her 8-year-old son Brandon Burchard build something curious — a tower? a fort? — with blocks of packing foam, using shaving cream as cement. It was an art break. This, after a hand at bowling and a visit to the fake tattoo tent.

A football field full of activities — horseshoes the size of vinyl records, giant basketballs, fun jumps, and a dance party — still awaited him Saturday morning.

“There aren’t many opportunities out there like this, where things are set up for kids like him,” the Temecula mother said. “He is really getting a boost here.”

With his walker parked nearby, Brandon worked his way around some mesh bins, looking for foam pieces to build with, while a volunteer helped dispense the shaving cream. His mother watched and fought tears when she spoke of how her son, who has cerebral palsy, strives to do “the things other kids do.”

“He struggles every day on the playground,” she said. “Here, he feels like he is winning.”

That is the heart of the annual Temecula Special Games, now in its fifth year at Chaparral High School. Temecula’s annual field day for special-needs individuals typically has more than 100 participants and more than double that number of volunteers.

“When we started doing this five years ago for our special-needs community, there was no stopping it,” said organizer Dawn Adamiak, recreation supervisor for the city of Temecula, which sponsors the event alongside the Temecula Valley Unified School District.

The event is set up on the football field with 29 activities in total.

“It’s very informal; whatever they want to do,” said Adamiak.

For 2-year-old Lillian Rogoff, it was either the bounce house or the giant basketballs. The little girl ran from activity to activity, with a bright orange “participant” shirt skimming her ankles. In true toddler-parent form, her mother and father were spotted chasing after her.

“She’s loving this,” said father Stephen Rogoff. “This is something great for the kids.”

Lillian Rogoff has autism. Her mother, Julia Rogoff, runs a parents-of-special-needs-children support group out of the family’s Murrieta home. She said most special-needs children don’t get to attend events such as the Temecula Special Games, which brings together the children and volunteers, one-on-one.

“That’s what I like seeing, the volunteers working with the kids,” said Rogoff, whose organization Lilly’s House offers regular play groups for special needs. “You hardly see that.”

The volunteer element, Adamiak said, is one the event has never struggled with. By Saturday, a total of 107 participants had registered and volunteers tallied in at 230. Setup was easy, she said. And every athlete had a helping hand to guide them and their parents from activity to activity.

Most of the volunteers were students, some lined up for community service credit and others there just to help.

Near the entrance, waiting for a participant to join the fun, stood Cornerstone Christian School students Sara Pelletier, 17, and Madison King, 18. The pair said they signed up for a school project and couldn’t have picked a better venue.

“I see everybody so happy here,” said Pelletier. “Madison’s athlete kept hugging her. It was so awesome.”